Hollywood: From Shadows To The Spotlight

[Chapter 29: Seeker of Stories (I).]

Alternative Title - [Chapter 29: A Peek At What's To Come.]

Last Time on Chapter 028 of [From Shadows To The Spotlight] —

Without even asking for it, she quietly handed it to him after taking out the first actor's resume in it.

Opening the folder, he smiled faintly at the stack of resumes inside. It was just another piece of the puzzle Alex was building—a puzzle whose final image Jeff could only guess at.

But he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the fact that he had recalled the heads of all six of MONARCH's film crews at the new year's party for a meeting.

Now Continuing —

While Jeff was absent-mindedly flipping through the stacks of resumes, his actual line of thoughts were directed towards his feeling of worry. Worry for his boss and what the future held for their studio.

Alex had taken a chance on him, and he had repaid that favor ten times over by finding him the most obscure yet fitting actors that made films produced by MONARCH some of the best in the industry.

The studio had truly grown, and the scale of their operations had never been as grand as it was at the moment. There were 11 small and big projects that MONARCH currently had actively in production; those were only the ones that he was aware of.

He knew the actual number was far greater than that, but it wasn't exactly the number of projects in production that were the source of his worry.

No, rather it was their production budget; currently Alex was working on Lord of the Rings, a trilogy that would cost them 350 million dollars in just production. Then there was the pre-production of this unnamed film franchise that they were currently casting for.

From what he was aware, Alex had spent over 45 million dollars in the last 2 years to just build a mansion for one of the characters in the movies.

It was a beautiful mansion, no doubt, located at Point Dume, a promontory at the edge of a cliff overlooking the scenic views of the Pacific Ocean. But it still didn't justify the price tag attached to the thing, but what did he know? He was just a humble casting director.

Then there was the action flick he had produced, starring his good friend Keanu Reeves, made on a budget of 61 million dollars. And there was also the experimental sci-fi suspense thriller starring Brandon Lee, made on a budget of 69 million dollars.

Alex had also decided to co-produce Steven Spielberg's next movie, "Saving Ryan," and he had even contributed around 35 million dollars for it as his half of the budget.

And while Mr. Spielberg was a master at his craft, and a great commercial director. His recent works after the much celebrated Jurassic Park had turned out to be a bit lackluster, with the cynics and haters even claiming that he had lost his touch.

If that was not ballsy enough, Alex had also greenlit a film from someone whom he personally could only consider to be a greenhorn.

He didn't know how, but somehow, a man named M. Night was able to impress Alex with his script so much that he immediately greenlit the script for the pre-production process.

From what he had heard, even the man's absurd stipulation of being allowed to film the movie himself only made Alex pause for a few seconds before he shook hands and agreed.

And so now a film only known as 'Sixth' was also in production with a production of 47 million dollars—47 freaking million—and to a director who had only made 2 films before this.

He really respected Alex a lot, but even he considered this to be a madman's gamble, and even if he did end up winning like always with his devil's luck, how high would the box office even be?

'70 million? 140 million? 250 million?'

He immediately shook his head at the last figure. Horror films were notorious for their limited box office, as very few horror films had ever crossed the 100 million dollar mark.

All he hoped for was for the studio to not make a loss on the movie, as it would lower the stellar track record of box office successes that they had been religiously maintaining till now.

If his boss had stopped at this, he might've still been able to breathe a sigh of relief. But he didn't stop there; the studio had also greenlit two new high-budget TV shows. It's not like they didn't already have an array of TV shows for their paid and free TV channel. Nope, not at all.

But the thing that kept him awake at night and filled him with dread that was making spiral right now was the show that Alex had quite recently greenlit and wasn't even in pre-production.

Why wasn't it in pre-production? Well, it was because the studio's writers were busy losing their sleep and sanity over the behemoth that was the unnamed film franchise they were currently casting for.

They were the only people in the entire studio who were in the know and knew what it was that Alex was creating. Well, how could they not when they were actively trying to help him create it?

When he had tried to pry some information from his friend, who was also part of one of the writers' rooms, he was immediately shut down.

All he was told was that they were creating the biggest film franchise that Hollywood has and most likely will ever see.

It was a mind-numbing claim, but even more mind-numbing than that was the production budget that he had assigned to that accursed show he had recently greenlit—it was a staggering 80 freaking million dollars. And that was just for the first season.

And what he hated even more than that number was the work ethic of the guy whose books they were going to adapt the show from—A Song of Ice & Fire by George R. R. Martin.

The man was the personification of the sin of sloth, and Jeff was willing to bet his left nut that if it weren't for the contractual obligation that he had towards Alex and MONARCH. The man would not even be able to write even a page of his book in one month.

He wasn't privy to the deal that the man had signed with Alex, or even just how much money their boss had to throw at that sloth to get him to sign it. But it was a miracle because after writing the first book in 1996, they had gotten the second book just 2 years later.

Jeff still remembered Alex animatedly talking about adapting the book into a show and making it into the best fantasy TV show the world had ever seen.

It was an admirable goal that even he could get behind, and he didn't really have a problem with that. What he had an issue with was the man that they would be depending on to consistently write sequels so that they could adapt it.

The only silver lining in this debacle was that Alex was well aware of George Martin's nature as well. So he had added contingencies to protect them from Martin's tardiness.

From what he had heard from his friend, if George failed to deliver, Alex had the right to take over his unfinished manuscript and complete the story himself.

In essence, their boss basically owned A.S.O.I.A.F and Martin; that was a thought that brought a small smile to his face.

But it immediately turned upside down when he remembered how badly the studio was bleeding money. The only reason he wasn't in a full-blown panic attack because of the situation was because of his faith in Alex's financial capabilities.

And last year had been a really great year, especially with how PIXAR, their partner studio that was in charge of making animated movies, was beginning to match MONARCH's peripheral sales.

PIXAR had been another one of Alex's crazy investments that no one thought would pan out. But it had surprisingly paid off in recent years with hits like Toy Story and A Bug's Life.

Sadly, the latter was not doing as great as the former in peripheral sales, but Alex had already predicted it. He knew that while children would be crazily buying toys that looked like Woody and Buzz Lightyear from the movie.

He was almost certain that kids would not be interested in buying toys that look like bugs, as that was not something that would suit every child's taste. And his assumption was proven correct; still, thankfully, the box office of the movie was good enough, and they were able to earn a good profit from it.

But this year they were playing it safe and making a sequel to Toy Story 2 instead of taking a risk with a new venture. It had been Alex's call as he wanted to make a few safe bets as well to minimize the risks, and TS2 was part of that idea.

"Hey, what are you looking so depressed about? Woman troubles?" Brooke called out, breaking him out of spiraling thoughts. She had a teasing smirk on her face but didn't take her eye off of the book she was reading.

"What? No! No.. Lisa is good; I am.." 'Wait, why am I explaining my personal life to her?' "I am not sad.. just worried, is all." He finally replied after taking a breath to calm down.

"About what?" She asked nonchalantly, turning a page of the book she was reading.

He told her about all the high-level projects their studio was currently working on, and he knew that they had a stellar track record at the box office, but the risks have never been this high before.

"You think this is risky?" She chuckled at his dismay. "Did you forget, next year, Alex is going to add the next installment of Star Wars to his plate?"

Jeff's face soured a little, but it immediately went back to normal. "Bah, it's fine. It's Star Wars. The chances of it failing are less than one in a million."

"Also, you forgot to take Titanic into consideration, which has over 150 million dollars of the studio's money invested in it, and that's not counting, god knows how much marketing that mess of a movie is going to cost the studio."

"F***." He rubbed his temples, gently massaging them to alleviate the stress.

"Why are you so worried anyway?" She couldn't help but feel compelled to ask.

"I don't know if you have noticed this or not, Brooke, but we have a fantastic thing going for us here. Alex gives the crew, the artists, and the films more importance than the money they could potentially rake in."

"And working for him doesn't make me feel like I am selling my soul to the devil; the benefits and pay are unmatched. I just don't want to lose this, is all." Jeff explained, with half-truths, he had another reason behind his worries, but didn't want to share it to save himself the embarrassment.

"Hmm, trust me, I know exactly how that feels. But I think you're worried because you've already rejected quite a few offers from almost every studio part of Big Six, and we both know very well the kind of ego they hold."

"They won't take you in even if you go there asking for a job on your hands and knees, and even if they did, the terms they would offer will fuck you over. So MONARCH is your only bet right now." She replied in that same nonchalant tone, like she hadn't just exposed a secret.

"Are you like some kind of detective?" He asked with a weirded-out look on his face.

"Nope, it's just my intuition. Also, they came to me with a similar offer."

"What did you tell them?"

Hearing this question made her pause, and for the first time in their conversation, she took her eyes off of the book she was reading.

She looked at him with a look of anger in her eyes, but he could tell it wasn't directed towards him. "I told them to get fucked. If they think there's enough money on God's green earth that would make me betray Alex, then they are sorely mistaken."

He leaned away from her, his heart shuddering in fright at the conviction with which she delivered the sentence. "Damn.. Scary as always." 

"Anyway, what are you even reading? You almost didn't take your eyes off of it." He asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation.

"Oh this? It's nothing.. just a children's book, Daniel sent in when I asked him for a recommendation." She replied nonchalantly, with her tone going back to normal.

"Oh Dan.. wait you mean the Seeker? Daniel Castillo?" He almost shrieked in panic, though it was mostly for show, as he was just trying to cheer her up.

 "Yep." That familiar, teasing smirk was back on her face.

But upon hearing that reply, he let out a sigh of frustration. "Mother******, he is going to make Alex buy that, isn't he?" He now knew he wouldn't be getting that long international vacation he was dreaming off for a few more years.

"I am 99% sure of it, and I think he definitely should." She replied with a tone of certainty that surprised him.

"It's that good?"

"See for yourself." She replied as she took out another copy of the book for him and handed it over.

--------

The soft glow of a bedside lamp illuminated the room as the aforementioned Daniel Castillo sat cross-legged on the edge of his daughter's small bed, his deep voice weaving through the words of the storybook resting in his hands. Beside him, his seven-year-old daughter, Emily, clutched her stuffed owl tightly, her bright eyes fixed on her father as if he were conjuring the tale himself.

"And then," Daniel read, his voice dropping to a hushed tone, "the boy reached out, tentative yet curious, and the strange sensation of… well, magic, coursed through him for the first time."

Emily gasped softly, her small fingers tightening around the owl. "Do you think he was scared, Daddy?" she asked, her voice filled with genuine wonder.

Daniel smiled, pausing in his reading. "Maybe a little. But sometimes being scared is part of something big and exciting, don't you think?"

Emily thought for a moment before nodding solemnly. "Like when I tried to pet Mrs. Henderson's dog?"

"Exactly like that," Daniel chuckled, ruffling her soft brown curls. "Now, let's see what happens next."

He turned the page slowly, his eyes briefly scanning the words before continuing with a warm, steady cadence. The story was captivating, the kind that painted vivid images in the mind and left a lingering sense of wonder. 

It had become a favorite of Emily's, and despite knowing the story from the inside out, having heard it from him probably over a half a dozen times already. They always came back to this book, and it had become a steady companion in their bedtime stories sessions.

— To be Continued...

{2,473 words}

{TRL: This is the new Hollywood story that has been bouncing around in my head. I really need to get this out, so here's another chapter.

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